Monitor system for carrier-despatch apparatus.



C. S. JENNINGS.

MONITOR SYSTEM FOR CARRIER DESPATCH APPARATUS.

APPL ICATION FILED APR 8. 1914.

1 2 14 1 Patented Jan. 2,1917.

5 SHEETS--SHEET1.

NTH CA RF/EF? Patemed Jan. 21%? 5 SHEETS SHEEI Z APPUCAHON FILED APR.8.1914.

AL g 6 59 C. S. JENNINGS. MONITOR SYSTEM FOR CARRIER DESPATCH APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 8 I9I4. V 1,210.,481. Patented Jun. 2, 1917.

' 5 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

E ZUz'fzzesses. Invemor C. S. JENNWNGS,

MONITOR SYSTEM FOR CARRIER DESPATCH APPARATUS.

APPUCATION FILED APR.8,1914. Y A N imtenfefl Jan, 2, M1!

5 SHEETS SHEET 4.

C. S. JENNINGS.

MONITOR SYSTEM FOR CARRIER DESPATCH APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 8, 1914.

1,210,481 Patented Jan. 2, 1917.

5 SHEETS SHEET 5.

' Witnesses: I72 vemor MW 9km. fiwzgr J/m w 6% a {/W B97 QW 4 MM am aware various changes and scope of said ciaiins.

1g .0 .J. i 1 #1 P. a? a 1 iieieiiing b0 b1 e coatin s. .i 153F116 i is a somewhat diagrammatic eievation of a pneumatic tube syste 1 showing cettain contact.

devices illeilliii thereon. 2 to a iai' ei seats and partly broken away, of the carrier i eceiving apparatus one of the stations which hereafter r teia'eci to as the cashiers desk. Fig. 2 shows a inociification oi" the Contact in the upper portion of the receiving 3 is a detaii section. of a Contact in the tnhe from which carriers are oi from said. station. Fig, 4 is modification of the device shown in F a tie it section g. 8 is a do section taken on of ig. 7 is a fragment of we upon which the records are 1 tudiiiai sec above r fer Us. on line Vi section ta i0 is a retested. to, in position the tuning mechanism "as section h taken side eievation paitiy torches.

r of poition of the said tiniine" tie- "vice. F 11 is elevation oi parts shown in i 3 1 ig. i2 is a section taken on line ll of F is: *10. i3 is a Veiticai transv section o a cioci'o work mechanism which incincies 1 upon which the shown niountei'i; such section heino" ta LHH XHEI of 141-, tion taken on iine E Fig. 15 is a detail drum taken on tine Fig. 16 is a front elevation of a counting mechanism in connection with which signai Eights are pi-evicted. ig, i? is a section taken on line XVH1 E of i6. 18 is a section taken through the counting mechanism, the casing-oi which is shown .11

17 the section being snhstantiaiiy paailcl to the plane of the paper and the iine oi this section being further shown at XVHLJQV iii in 19. is a plan ViQW of the apparatus shown in Fig. 18. his". 20 is a section taken on tine WV W in i :43; which nio iiiication is emhociieci in a second 02 dock-work mechanism hereinafter to F is a wiring diagram oi systein con ttncteci in accordance with the present ip'vcnt" n is a (ietaii eievation drawn we, 0 i n K i a W L .15. 0 -o 0, 16a wow: 1111, 1"

e tion a ieacis to a suite. is terminal 2 of weii. known construction, iocated a cierks station 2. The usual Valli e2 is provided upon the terminai 2 to permit o egress of cattiers whi e noi-niaiiy preventing an inflow of air into the return tube 3 which leads from the despatching terminal 4- at station a the receiving sheii 5 at station at The nsuai flexible valve 6 is disposed at th top of the receiving shelf normally to preven ingress of air to the conciuit Y which i a from return tube to the exhaust too and the i o'er may be connected to a i 9 from which air is exhaaste. hy ai a suitable blower 1U driven by motor 11, ail in a weii known ashion.

@onsidei'ingg first e construction connect on with the wirng eiagiain shown A circuit La device ci'oai J 12 (Fi t 1 is located in tnhe i. e rthich 'toi" t thmouth thereoi ph y in toe exemplifies. construction h u been shown as being normality open: his

. x. N iiorniaiiy thiou h the transmission tubes in the ditecticn the asgrows indie catect "hetenpon hen a carrier is in:

serteoi into the tube 1 its forward end strikes against a trip 13, shown in 3, and said trip is thereby promptiy snapped arom into its dotted. tine position butter stop 14-, so doing cams over T8" siiieiit contact strip 15 ii to ent 1. 13 .R q .L J. contact i6 ooth oi these contacts being within the 01E the apparatus i2.

Con-

inonnteci 5 and wires 17 respectively lead therefrom to points hereinafter ref-street A light spring 19 acts i'eturn the 1 to its normal position shown i.. W soon as toe carrier has cieareci saici same manner as contacts to and wires leading erefi'oin tespec' ,3 24- which ieaci to af er descrlhe The care. iev inaiiy held. in its n oesmost aerosol be herein particularly described, other than to state that the light 27 is suitably connected by spring contact clips 28 and 29 with wires 30 and 31, which are preferably nor mally unenergized, and that the light may be covered by a semi-translucent shell or globe 32. Iibove this light is a casing in which are mounted spring contacts 33 and 34 which are respectively connected to wires 36 and said contacts being normally in engagement, but being adapted to be sepa rated or cammed apart by the movement of a lever of trip 37, which normally extends into the path of carriers descending the shehi. This trip is also provided with a light spring 38 whereby as soon as a cartime has cleared the trip, the latter will be moved again into the position in which it is shown in 2.

In Fi 8 c ing mechanism which constitutes an important part the present system. Herein, a small constantly operating motor 39 drives a worm 41 and thereby a wheel mounted on the shaft d2. The latter is suitably geared to a constantly rotating electrically conductive drum 43, so that the latter advances in the direction or" the arrow marked thereupon in Fig. 9, at a very slow rate. It will be understood of course that the shaft ale upon which drum &3 is mounted is suitably journaled in a frame 45 and that this entire appaartus is preferably incased, as shown in Figs. 8 and 9. The drum 423 is insulatedly mounted upon its shaft and is at all times in engagement with a resilient contact strip from which extends a lead or wire 1-7,. hereinafter referred to in connection with the wiring Upon either side of drum 13 is a series of time element devices the details which are best show in ll igs. l0 ll. Herein two disks-d8 oi" insulating material mounted upon the hubs and i9 of contact disks and M, which latter are spaced from each other by an insulating "plate or "disk 52, the whole bein suitably riveted together, at 53, in such manner tha insulation is maitained between disks 5t) and hi. The insulating disks t r ay of fiber or other suitable are cut away arcuately port of the peripheries thereof *hese points also, for

one trunnions up ed in th lhave shown a preferred tinilead 57, while the strip 54: may extend down and may be bent around to form a yielding or resilient support for the armature 56 and its associated contact parts. Strip 5% is connected at its lower extremity to a wire or lead 58 and may be mounted di- Itectly upon an insulating block 59 as shown in Fig. 9. The hub 49 has connected thereto a light spiral spring 60 which normally tends to move it in adirection opposite to the arrow shown upon disk 48 in Fig. 10; the outer and lower end or" said spring being connected to a stud 61 mounted upon the strip 5%. A pin or stop 62 limits the backward rotation of disks 48 by spring 60; said pin projecting laterally fromone of said disks and engaging the strip 5% when the contact parts-are in the positions in which. they are shown in Figs. 10 and 11. As previously stated there are provided a series of these timing elements preferably all operated bypower derived from a common source, to wit,idrum as, and there are preferably as many of said elements as there are receiving shelves. drum 4-3 is a series of electrom'agnets 63 which control the respective armature s 56 and thereby the respective timing elements. These 'magnets may all be conveniently mounted upon a central rib or bar of the frame 45. As shown in 9 the left hand timing element is out of engagement with drum 43; it being moved to the position in which it is shown by reason of its resilient mounting, and the outward movement being limitd by a stop bar or sleeve 6%, one of which'extends the length of the frame upon either side thereof. llhe timing element shown to the right in Fig. 9 is, however, in engagement with drum 63 and has been wound around to a point where contact disks have successively engaged said drum; the rearniost edges of the recesses 4:8 in the friction insulating disks d8 hat been turned into engagement with the smooth surface of the drum so that slippage occurs between the contac 51 and said drum.

lhe clockwork mechanism I shown in Figs. 13., -d 15 comprises a clock 65 having a sp sufiiciently strong to not only drive the us clock mechanism but to further drive a sh to, which extends tl rough tl'ie case 0* he clock as shown in 1.4-; sais turn o erating a worm and mounted upon a said stud ns Directly below the.

at L

of the mechanism and thereafter forcing ofi said drum from its tapered spindle with slight pressure. The drum is preferably grooverh as at 72, to receive the points 73 of pins 73 which are electroqnagnetically moved up into engagement with the paper or other suitable material 7 1 from which the card or chart is made; and obviously since the paper is not backed by the drum at the points where the needles or points 73 impinge thereagainst, said paper will be pertorated whenever a pin 73 is raised 'llhese pins may be mounted in a frame 74; and preferably have the lower extremities thereof connected to pivoted arms or levers 75, each of which carries an armature 75 which is controlled by a corresponding electromagnet 76g also carried by frame 7%. When these magnets are not energized gravity returns the corresponding armatures and pins 73 to their lowermost positions.

Referring now to Figs 16 to 91 inclusive, l have therein shown a. suitable counting mechanism in combination. with circuit malting parts, all broadly designated, Y, the purpose and mode of Operation of which will be referred to hereinafter in connection with the description of the systemas a whole. it will be well, however, first to consider the construction of these particular parts and their relationship to each other A suitable upright base 77 carries a casing 78 the front of which may be closed by a glass plate 79. Connected to the plate or frame 80 within this casing are clips adapted to hold signal lights 81 similar to those designatcd 27. The wires 89 and 83 leading trom these lights will be hereinafter re ierred to. Projecting laterally from the frame 80 and securely fastened therein below vthe lights 81 are counting mechanisms each mounted in a U-shaped frame 84- to which frame 85 which carries the magnet 86 which actuates said counting mechanism. counting mechanisms in the present instance each comprise four numbered disks respectively designated 87, 88 89 and 99, all loosely mounted upon a spindle 91. Between these disks and the magnet 8 1- 'is an armature 92 mounted upon a shaft 93; said armature being pivotally connected at 94: to a pawl 94. For convenience of illustration in Fig. 18 a portion. of this pawl and the corresponding portion otthe armature has been broken away, the connection has been shown fully in 19.. Pawl9 l engages a ratchet '95,, which preterably has ten teeth and said ratchet may be integrally connected to the first or units dish 8? as shown in 21. Upon the opposite side of disk 87 is a toothed lug 97 which is adapted to engage a six toothed star wheel 96. once in every revolution of the dish: 87. it will be understood from the manner is connected. a somewhat similar The in which the section has been taken which shown in Fig. 20, the part therein designated 87 is integrally connected to the reduced with the said reduced portion of the dish in a known manner he star wheel 96 is loosely mounted upon a shaft 97 upon which are also mounted identical star wheels 96 and 96 as shown in Fig. 21 l/Vhenever the star wheel 96 is rotated one sixth of a revolution by its engagement with part 8'1, teeth, which are in engagement with a gear 98 which is integrally connected to dish 88, advance said dish a sufiicient distance to enpose a new digit through theslot 99 in a cover plate 100 back of the glass 79; 8% being of course correspondingly apertured. Disk 88 is similarly reduced upon the left hand side thereof, as shown in Fig. 21 and correspondingly carries a star wheel actuating part 88", similar to the part- 8'1 above referred toyand this part in turn actuates the star wheel 96 and thereby correspondingly advances the disk 89 one etc for every revolution of the dish 88. section plane of dish 89, shown in. 21 also passes longitudinally through the part 89', and of course this element actuates tie star wheel 96 and thereby the dish 90 in similar fashion to the corresponding just described: Between the disks 8'?! and 88 there is disposed a guide member 191 which is preferably of light gage sheet metal riveted to a latch 1025; the member 191 being slotted, as shown in Fig, 29 to clear the small hub of the disk 87 which projects out beyond the part 87 thereof, and spaces said dish from the oining dish 88 Armature 92 is slotted at 193 for the reception of h' latch so that normally the travel or said mature is limited tl'iereby but whenever the toothed part 87 passes the upper arm i023 of the latch 192 it rocks the latter counterclockwise, as viewed in 18 29 and thereby releases armature 99, permitting i"- to make its full travel. A set screw'llldcar ried in the end of the armature is at suc time adapted to operatively engage a contact and press the same into engage ment with the contact head oi an electrically conductive rod 106; and owing to the tact 1 that there are 10 teeth in the ratchet 99 The a wheel I Red 106 has con- I is prevented from being reversely actuated by its pawl 9% by a weighted locking pawl 108; so that by no possibility can contact between members 105 and 106 be established at other than every tenth actuation of the armature 92. The latter is normally held away from magnet 86 by a light spring109 and a similar spring 110 connected to the shaft 111 upon which the latch 102 is mountn ed, normally holds said latch in its operative position; although gravity will normally tend to so hold it even'if spring 110 were not provided. The contact 105 is mounted upon the portion of the frame 112 through which extends the adjacent pole of communication between wires'107 and 114:

will be established. The magnet 86 is also provided with conductive rods 115 -and 116 which are connected to the respective extremities of its coil and which have attached thereto leads or wires 117 and 118.

Having thus described in detail the me-- chanical elements involved in the system diagrammatically represented in Fig. 23, I shall now consider the operation of the system while describing the electrical connections between these elements. In this figure, I

three cashiers? desks or stations have been shown, each being providedwith four despatching tubes 1 and four receiving shelves 5; each "of said shelves being further provided with a signal light 27. -For convenience of description the circuits leading from the right hand despatching tube and receiv- 10, 19, etc. The wire 118 which is connect ing shelf will first be considered. The posi- Y tive lead or main 120 has connected thereto the wire 17 which leads to the contact making device 12 upon the despatching tube,

'and the wire 18 hereof is connected to the common lead 117, for these devices, which extends to the coil of the first of the mag nets 86 in the mechanism Y shown in Figs.

ed to the other extremity of this maghet coil extends thence to the negative lead or main .121 whereby this magnet is energized every time that a carrier is despatched. Energizetion of magnet86 attracts its armature 92 and'thereby actuates the countingmecha nism, the units disk 87 of which is advanced one step per carrier despatched and of course after ten carriers have been despatched the disk 88 correspondingly advances one step or digit, etc. As previously stated the contacts 105 and 106 are only engaged at every tenth energ zation of magnet 86 and hence every tenth carrier despatched will cause current to flow from the positive main 120, at the further. extremity thereof, through wire 11%: and the magnet frame to contacts 105 and 106, and thence through wire 107 to one of the magnets designated 76 below the drum 72, shown in Fig. 13. The current leaving this magnet flows via wire 122 to a common return wire 123 which is connected to the negative main. Thus upon the des' patch of every tenth carrier through a determined despatch tube, the armature of themagnet corresponding to said tube will be lifted and will thereby drive the perforating point of the corresponding pin '53 through the paper '54. It will be understood of course that this paper is divided transversely by lines 123 which correspond to time intervals and since the drum carrying the record card or sheet continuously 1'0- tates in correspondence with the movements of the clock, it will be obvious that practicallythe exact moment when any given carrier is despatched will be recorded upon sheet 7a in the column which corresponds to the tube through which said carrier travels. t maybe here stated that the lines 124 on sheet 7 1-, which extend longitudinally there- 'of and at right angles to line 123, form thesecolumns, and in practice the first col-- umn from the left in Fig. 14 will contain the records of tenth carriers despatched from the cashiers station at the left in Fig. 23. The next column is for records of delays or demerits at this station. The third recording column, from the left, in Figs. 7 and 14 will contain records of tenthcarriers despatched from the middle station, while the fourth column will similarly show the delays; and the fifth and sixth columns will correspondingly pertain to the right hand cashiers station with its four despatching tubes and f our receiving shelves.

When a. carrier is delivered to the cashiers station or desk through the tube 3 which delivers to the right handreceiving despatching tube the recor magnet 63 of the timing element which corshelf 5 in Fig. 23 (corresponding to the ing circuit for I which has just been traced), said carrier responds to this shelf. The current flow- I ing through this magnet flows part-way through a wire 126 and is there branched,

a poition traversing a normally closed circuit breaker 127 and thence through wire 23, contacts 21 and 22 and wire 24: to the negative main; while the remainder of the current flows via wire 35, contacts 33 and 34, and wire 36, to wire 2?) and thence out; together withthe remainder of the current,

- in contact with lever the partial circuit through circuit breaker 127 will be maintained and hence the insulating fric- 4 tion disks 48 which correspond to this magnet 63 will be pulled in toward and held in engagement with the continuously rotated drum d3 until they have been rotated from the positionin which they are shown to the left in Fig. 9 to a point where the cut-away portions 18 of said disks encounter said drum, whereupon the contact disk 50 will be snapped into engagement with the conductive surface'oii the drum and the following circuit is completed: Current flows from wire 124 which is in communication with the positive main, via wire 4-? to contact 16', drum 48, contact 50, strip 54/, wire 57 and a wire128 which, preferably leads from a group of wires 57, to one of the magnets 76 which corresponds with the magnet 76 previously referred to, but which is on the demerit or delay side of the recording mechanism shown in Fig. 13. The current then passes from this magnet through a wire 129 to the common return wire 123 previously referred to, which leads to the negative main 121, The energizetion of magnet 76 causes one ofthe pins 73 to he raised and indent the record sheet in the column thereof which is immediately to the right of the column in which records are he t of the des atch of carriers throu h the des atch tubes corres endin to the receiving shelf in question. Thus a. delay on the part of an operative in removing a carrier within a period of, let us say, ten seconds, if that be the time which the corresponding timing element has been set to determine, will result in impressing upon the record sheet a demerit mark against this operative. Almost immediately after contact 50 has engaged the drum 48, the continued rotation of the latter will effect its engagement with contact dish 5]. and shortly thereafter its disengagement from disk 50. I This latter .action deenergizes magnet 76 so that the record sheet is not torn by the continued pressure of the recording needlethereagainst. The engagement of contact 51 with drum i3, however, completes the following circuit: lc rorn the positively energized wires 12% and 17, current flows through strip 426, drum 43, contact '51,'strip 5%, wire 58, and wire 30 to thebashiers signal lights 27, thence via.

wire 31, to a wire 82, which is connected to the signal light 81 in the apparatus shown in Fig. 16, which corresponds to this particular cashiers station, current thence flowing via wires 83 and 123 to the negative lead 121. Hence, lights show simultaneously at the supervisor s station and. at the dilatory cashiers desk, indicating to the operative there stationed, and to the supervisor, that a carrier has remained in the shell corresponding to the signal light shown, for a periodin excess of the time allotted for the normal removal of said carrier, and further indicating that a demerit mark has heen made against this operative upon the recording sheet. Thereafter the lower edges or outer corners of the recesses 4-8 of disks 48 are rotated into engagement with the 18 and step further rotation of said disks; contact 51, however, remaining in slipping engagement with said drum and consequently lights 27 and 81 continue to show as long as this single carrier remains in the shelf. The instant that the carrier is withdrawn, lever 20 is raised by its spring 25, which interrupts circuit b tween contacts 21 and 22, and the various above described parts are again deenergized preparatory to making indications for the next carrier, if such indications be required. it may happen that a second carrier is delivered to the receiving shelf 5 before the first carrier is removed and to indicate such a condition the lever 37 and certain coiiperating parts are provided which, when a second carrier occupies the position in which one is shown in Fig. 2, will hold said lever in its dotted line position 37 and thereby interrupt the normally closed partial circuit, above referred to, which includes contacts 33 and 34; and wires 35 and 36; the former oi these extending to the wire 126 and the latter to the wire 23 to which current flows through the normally closed circuit breaker 127, in the manner above described, When, however, contact disk 51 engages drum 4C3 not only lights the lamps 2'? and 81 but further energizes the coil 12? of the circuit breaker 127, since coil 127 is in shunt between wires 58 and 82. This energization of coil'127 interrupts the circuit which includes wire 126 and a portion of wire 23,-hut since at such time contacts 33 and 34 will normally be closed the whole current will pass around this break in the circuit, through wires 35 and 36. When, however, the second carrier interrupts this branch also,current will cease to tlow through the magnet 63 out the particular timing element which corresponds to the receiving shelf in question, so that the resilient mounting 54: will disengage contact disk 51 from the drum and thereby interrupt the signal lamp circuit while at the same time deenergizing coil 12?, it the circuit which controls said part has been energized by the completion of the period of 10 seconds from the arrival or the first carrier in the lower end of the shelf, and allowing circuit breaker 127 to again close. This reclosure of the latter element immediately reenergizes magnet 63 which again snaps the timing element back into engagement with the drum; but spring so has in the meangagement with the drum, rotated disks 48 back to their first position so that the element will time again for its full period and this periodwill now run against the second carrier so that if this carrier be not allowed to descend past lever 37 within ten seconds of the recording of the first demerit, a second demerit will be entered upon the record. Further, if when the first carrier has been removed and the second carrier has dropped clear of lever 37 and moved into engagement with lever 20, then if said second carrier, which has now become the first, be not removed within ten seconds of its engagement with lever 20, another demerit will'be recorded. Thus the arrival of a first carrier starts the time interval running and the arrival of a carrier either within or after said interval re-times the time element mechanism to run for this second carrier at any time after the lapse of the first period which ran against the first carrier. Further, if this second carrier be allowed to remain more than ten seconds said time element mechanism is again automatically re-timed owing to the fact that upon the completion of the time period running against the second carrier, circuit is closed between the drum and the contact 51 as soon as thevlatter contact engages said drum, vwith the general result that if this second carrier be allowed to remain up in the shelf in the position in which it is shown in mark will be recorded every ten seconds as ion as said carrier continues to press against lever 37, while the lights 27 and 81 will flash intermittently at ten second intervals immediately after each demerit recorded. it no second carrier follows the first into the shelf such a repetition of demerit marks for a single carrier would not be made, and the signal lights at both the cashiers desk and at the supervisors sta tion would remain continuously lighted. The supervisor can, therefore,tell quite aecurately from the inspection of his light 81, what kind of a delay is oc'currring-at the cashiers desk, 5. e.,whether a single carrier has arrived and has been left in the shelf or whether another carrier or carriers have also arrived to which no attention is being paid by this particular cashier. In even a moderately busy system, however, the sec ond carrier will be very apt to follow the first within a reasonabl short time with the result that if the cashier is not attending to duty a succession'of demerits will be recorded. Since every tenth carrier despatched through the corresponding tube, or indeed through any one of the tubes which are under the charge of a given cashier, will cause an indentation or mark to be made in the column, immediately adjacent and to the left of that in which these de- Fig. 2, an additional demerit merits are being recorded, an inspection of the record Wlll show whether the cashiers neglect to remove carriers from a given receiving shelf or shelves was justified by the press of other work. Thus if in the column which indicates every tenth carrier despatched there be but few indentations within a given period of, let us'say, ten minutes, while during this same period there are a number of indentations in the delay or demerit column, it becomes at once evident that this particular cashier has been derelict in duty during this period; whereas, if the record shows that a large number of carriers were despatched while at the same time a number of delayswere recorded, it becomes equally evident that the cashier was so burdened with work as to be unable to promptly attend to the removal of carriers from the shelves The drum 7 2 is or course rotated at sufiicient speed to normally enable the inspector to distinguish apart the successive indentations in a given column thereof owing to the lapse of ten second intervals between each of said indentations in the demerit column; but if a serious delay of carriers is occurring at any given shelf so that a denier-it is recorded every ten seconds duringan extended period, these indentations may follow each other so closely as to make practically an indented line in the record. Even here, however, it is possible upon a close inspection to tell about how many demerits such a line represents, especially since if this line extends uninterruptedly through a period of say two minutes, such two minute period will be represented by a determined space on the record ond, will, since it is at such time in engagement with lever 37, cause the recording of demerits at ten second intervals if no further attention is paid by the operative to this shelf. It hence behooves the cashier or operative to take no. chances, since a delay in removing the carrier in sight may cause an accumulation of carriers in the shelf which, ifnot very promptly attended to thereafter, will result in the recording'of a considerable'number of demerits. It will be observed too that upon the arrival of the first carrier the signal light at the cashiers desk only shows after the demerit has been recorded and that while, other than for the continued showing of the lights respectively at this desk and at the supervisors station,

, tically identical ier sheet this first tiin e may arrive any i will he indicat i this second carrier de'nergisa the second demerit will he recorded the lapse of about ten seconds; he tore the lights momentarily) flash. The circuit breaker 152'? has not heen shown in detail since the construction iswell known and has accordingly heen diagrammatically represented in usual manner,

As wi l he at once evident upon inspec tion of L 23, the circuits for the respective despa 'ch'n the tuhes shelves are pracmay he merely i t 2- '5 ics' v i =3 7' qr? noted tiat one ll llt on is EOLOVJQQC let each. group of four shelves and that correspond ingly there is but one or coil 86 for a common group of despatchin "uhes; so that the despatch of a carrier through. any one of the tour desp'atch tuhes constituting a group will energize said magnet and thereby operate the register corresponding' to this group; while every tenth carrier, no matter through which of these four tuhes said carrier may be despatched, will cause an indentation to he made upon the record sheet; there being but one magnet ill for each group of despatching tuloes. Correspondingly all demerits against a given cashier are recorded through theinstrumentality of a simgle demerit magnet 76. Therefore, the record. sheet for three cashiers stations or desks having a definite number of despatching tuloes leading therefrom and heing provided with a like number of receiving shelves, will have alternately disposed thereon three columns representing tenth carriers despatched and three columns representing demerits. There are preterahly provided, however, devices as t here are receiving shelves; since an attempt to utilize one time element device for more than one shelf will he aptto result in unfair recording; ct dela s, In the preferred system there is instal an additional clock-work mechanism 'X." similar to that shown in Fig. 13 and an auxiliary register cabinet Y similar to that shown Figs. 16 and 17, except that in the caseoi" this latter, no lights need he provided, but there is a magnet 86 for each department in the store over which supervision is to be exercised.

Referringmore particularly to Fig, 24- it will he observed that there are twelve dos-i patching tuhes and a corresponding numher of receiving shelves arranged in groups of four, as in the preceding case; one cashier being provided for each group. These tiiloes, however, may extend. to difierent departments so that the first set may run, for example. to the jewelry department; this set losing desigated a, Similarly a second set J on oi the electric lights and that shown in as many time element 1 register Y. a

c, may se=ve convey cash and charg or credit slips and the like to rd department A fourth L J2 I em a iourth ne nated d y similarly co partment with the cashiers desks, since, in this case, as also in the case of group 0, plurality of cashiers handle wor pertaining to such a given department Finally the tubes under groups e correspondingly pertain to two ad departments. in the register cahinet there will he a corresponding magnet 86 86 86 etc, for each of these departments it he observed that the single despatching tuloe correspondino to the hated a has in the present instance three wires extending from the contact maker therein, instead of two, as in the preceding case. A. detail oi this contact maker is shown in i; the only difference between the device shown in said figure and that Fig. 3 being that in addition to contacts 15 and 16 a third contact normally spaced away from contact 16 is provided,

this latter contact being designated 16" /Vhen a carrier swings around the lever 13, it first cams contact 15 into engagement with contact 16 and immediately thereafter the latter is moved into engagement with contact 16". The connections to the contacts 15 and 16 are practically identical with. those discussed in the consideration of I i. 93; the first descrihed register cahinet Y its magnets 86. and light 81 being controlled hy these contacts and said magnets 86 operating the registering mechanism record the despatchof every tenth carrier on the disks 87, 88, etc.; while in similar fashion the magnets 76 are energized to impress upon the record sheet an indentation for every tenth carrier despatched.

The third contact 16 in the carrier actuated circuit maker has connected thereto a wire 130 which for convenience of reference is marked 130 130", etc in accordance with the departmental group to which these wires may happen to pertain. Thus, there will he two of these wires in group 5, both iniparah lel; three in group a, similarly in parallel; tour in group is connected to a wire lSl which leads to the magnet 86 in the upper or departmental Similarly the two wires 136 are connected to a wire 181 which extends to magnet 86", etc, Wires l32 132 etc, extend to a common return wire 133 which is connected to the negdtive main 121. Hence the despatch of a carrier through any one of the despatch tuhes leading from the cash-=- iers" desks, which handle the transactions of d, in parallel, etc. Wire 1% t a given department, will momentarily ener-i gize the magnet 86, 86", etc., which pertains to such department and the register controlled by such magnet will be advanced one tically identical with that shown in Figs. 12 and 13; the magnets by means of which this second chart is perforated being respectively designated 7 6 7 6", etc., in the clockwork mechanism X. It will be observed that in this second or auxiliary clockwork mechanism nodemerit magnets are provided, since this device is merely for the purpose of recording on the second sheet every tenth carrier despatched from the cashiers stations through anyone of the despatch tubes leading from said stations to a given department.

As in the case of the three-magnet re'gis-' ter cabinet Y, previouslyv described, the re-' spective contacts 105, and 106 for each of the magnets in the departmental register Y, may have connected thereto wires 107, 07,

' etc., which'wires respectively extend t the said magnets 76, 7 6", etc., in the auxiliary mechanism X while contacts 105 may all be connected to a common wire 114: which leads from the positive main 120, and the somewhat farther from said magnets, the

frame being bowed up in a ridge, as shown in Fig. 22., to properly support the upper ends of the pins 73, "When the eye of the operator looks along the.line 135 a reflection of the second or departmental recording sheet 74* is perceived and hence the record of tenth carriers despatched for any given department may be reviewed right up to the instant that the inspection is made. This enables the supervisor ormanager, by a glance at the mirror 13.4, to ascertain at any given moment just how much work is beingdone in a given department; since of course thecarriers despatched to such department from the cashiers staltiori will quite accurately indicate how many transactions are occurring at said department.

" Hence if a department is burdened by a rush' of customers, the supervisor will be able to tell at-a glance when such 1s the case and he alsocan tell at. the same instant what other de artments are not busy and from. which cerks' can hence be s' a'red." The provision of this system, there ore, it is believed marks a great step forward in department store service.

While the invention has been primarily made with the object of improvin service of this description, I am aware t at it is adapted for use in various other ways so that I do not desire to be limited to the scrvicein question. It may also be pointed out that while the greater part of the wiring diagram shown in Fig. 24 is substantially similar to that shown in Fig. 23, in addition to the provision of the departmental register and auxiliary clock mechanism, a further slight change has been efi'ected, in that in place of providing a cashiers signal light for each receiving shelf; but one such light designated 27 is provided for each cashier, or inother words in the present instancefor every four receiving shelves. In the system shown in Fig. 24, therefore, the wire 58 which leads from the strip 54 is not branched down to the cashiers signal light directly, as was the case in the apparatus discussed in connection with Fig. 23; but ratherthe entire current which flows through wire 58 upon the engagement of.

contact disk 51 with the drum 43, flows through coil 127 and thence through wire 82, which corresponds to'wire 82 in the previously described system, in both directions; a portion of the current flowing up to light 81 and thence through wires 83 and 123- to the negative main 121, while the remainder. of the current flows either backwardly, or forwardlyas the case may be,

through wire 82' to a wire 31', through lamp 27', and thence via wire 30' to the wire 24.- which connects contact 22 of the receiving shelf with the negative lead 121.

-Herein it is preferable to have the resistance of any given light 27 equal to that of the corresponding light 81, so that current from the" wire 58 is substantially equally divided through wire 82 and wire 31; whereas, in the previously described system, diagranunatically represented in Fig. 23, each signal light 27 has preferably the same resistance as the corresponding coil 127, to prevent current backing up to light any other one of the lamps 27 pertaining to a given cashiers station. Finally, in certain cases, as for example when-the time interval for delaysis extended to one half minute or even longer, the intermittent flashing of .a light 81 at the supervisors station would not be a sufliciently positive indicationof a delay at any given station. Under such conditions, I therefore prefer to provide an indicating means for the second carrier which is separate from the lamp 81 which lights continuously for the first delayed carrier; The preferred indicatihg' means for the second carrier is a red colored lamp Ior'light 136 which is controlled houses contacts 33 and 34 (see Figs. 2 and 2 A. wire 138 connects each of these third or auxiliary contacts137with a common lead 139 which runs to lamp 136, as shown in Fig. 23. lFhe instant that a second carrier, in any one of the receiving shelves at the right hand cashiers station, encounters the trip 37 for said shelf, notonly is circuit interrupted between contacts 33 and 34: in the manner above described, but, further, contact 33 is cammed over into engagement with the auxiliary contact 137; whereupon a portion of the current flowing through wire 23 toward wire 24 and negative main 121, is shunted off through wire 36, contacts 33 and 137, Wire 138 to lamp 136 and thence out via wires 83 and 123 and the negative main, and as long as a second carrier remains in engagement with lever or trip 37, this red light will continue to show except at intervals when it is merely momentarily denergized by the periodic interruption of the circuit at circuit breaker 127, in the manner above described. Ihe periodic flicker of the red light is of advantage in that it not only serves especially to call attention to the light but the number of successive flickers further show the number of allotted periods that are passing at this particular station during which second carriers are in need of attention.

Having thus described my invention what I claim is 1. Ina carrier despatch monitor system, in combination with pneumatic despatch tubes having a despatching and receiving station, means for recording delays in attending to carriers delivered to said station during any given unit of time, said means including material upon which a record of said delays is made and a device to mark said material, means for recording the number of carriers despatched from said station during the same unit of time, said recording means also including material to be marked and a second device to mark the same, the

respective records made by said first and second mentioned means being adapted for comparison to show Whether the delays Were excusable on account of the press of work at said station, and means'to synchronously move the material upon which delays are marked and that upon which the number of despatched carriers are marked, with respect to the corresponding devices aforesaid.

2. In acarrier despatch monitor system, in combination with pneumatic. despatch tubes having a despatching and receivin station, time element mechanism, a recor sheet displaced thereby inaccordance with the timed movement-of said mechanism, and means, controlled'by carriers despatched to said station and subject to a. determined delay in handling after their arrival thereat, for recording on said sheet said delays.

3. In a carrier despatch monitor system, in combination with pneumatic despatch tubes having a despatching and receiving station, time element mechanism, a record sheet displaced thereby in accordance with the timed movement of said mechanism, demerit mechanism for recording upon said record sheet demerits indicative of delays in handling carriers, and means to automatically actuate said demerit mechanism when a carrier which has arrived at said station remains thereat without attention for a period in excess of a determined time.

4. In a carrier despatch monitor system, in combination with pneumatic despatch tubes having a despatching and receiving station. time element mechanism, a record sheet displaced thereby in accordance with the timed movement of said mechanism, demerit mechanism for recording upon said record sheet demerits indicative of delays in handling carriers, and means to automatically actuate said demerit mechanism when a carrier which has arrived at said station remains thereat without attention for a period in excess of a determined time, said last mentioned means including an auxiliary time element mechanism which times said period and means for stopping the running of said auxiliary mechanism when the delayed carrier is attended to.

5. Ina carrier despatch monitor system,

' actuate said demerit mechanism when a carrier which has arrived at said station remains thereat Without attention for a period in excess of a determined time, and co-acting means to record an additional demerit for a second carrier back of that first mentioned after said second carrier has .remained undisturbed at saidstation in excess of a determined period.

6. In carrier despatch apparatus, the combination of means for guiding carriers in transit, a station to which said carriers are delivered, and mechanism for recording demerits indicative of delays in excess of a determined period in removing carriers, which have been delivered to said station, from a portion of said stat-ion, said mechanism including a time element device having a part adapted to move in a determined path' delivered, and mechanism for recording de-...

merits indicative of delays in excess of a determined period in removing carriers, which have been delivered to said station, from a portion of said station, said mechanism including a time element device having a part adapted to move in a determined pathand a demerit recorder controlled by the arrival of said part at a determined point in said path, and means to re-set said part to travel said path controlled by the arrival of a second carrier at said station.

8. In carrier despatch apparatus, the combination of means for guiding carriers in transit, a station to which said carriers are delivered, and mechanism for recording demerlts mdlcative of delays in excess of a determined period in removing carriers,

' which have been delivered to said station,

said path controlled by the arrival of a from a portion of said station, said mechanism including a time element device having a part adapted to move in a determined path and. a demerit recorder controlled by the arrival ofsaid part at a determined point in said path means to reset said part to traiel cond carrier at said station, and to again reset said part upon the removal of but a single one of said carriers from said portion of said station.

9. In carrier despatch apparatus, the combination of means for guiding carriers in transit, a station to which said carriers are delivered, delay-indicating means, including a time element device, for rendering evident the presence of a carrier in a part of said station in excess of an allotted time, means for rendering evident the working conditions at said station to show whether such delay was excusable, said last mentioned means including mechanism to record the despatch from said station of only certain out of a series of successively despatched carriers, said certain carriers being spaced' from each other in said series by determined numbers of other and individually unrecorded carriers.

10. In carrier despatch apparatus, thecombination of means for guiding carriers in transit, a station to which said carriers are delivered, delay-indicating means, including a time element device, for rendering vevident the presence of a carrier in a part of the despatch from said station of every tenth carrier, the remaining carriers being individually unrecorded.

11. In carrier despatch apparatus, the combination of means forguiding carriersin transit, a station. from which said carriers are despatched, material upon which is made records of the number and relative frequency of despatch of carriers from said station, means to make said records upon said material, time. element mechanism for effecting timed relative movement between said material and said record making means, and means at said station for controlling actuations of said record making means.

12. In carrier despatch apparatus, the combination of means for guiding carriers in transit, a station from which said carriers are despatched, material upon which is made records of the number and relative frequency of despatch of carriers from said station, means to make said records upon said material, time element mechanism for effecting' timed relative movement between said material and said record making means, and means, controlled by despatched carriers, for

controlling actuations of said record making means.

13. In carrier despatch apparatus, the combination of means for guiding carriers in transit, a station to which said carriers are delivered, material upon which is made reeords of the number and relative nearness to each other of delays in the handling of said carriers at said station in excess of allotted times within which carriers should normally be attended to, means to make said records upon said material. time element mechanism for effecting timed relative movement between said material and said. record making means, and carrier controlled means including a time element device, for controlling actuations of said record making means.

14. In carrier despatch apparatus. the combination of means for guiding carriers in transit, a station to which said carriers are delivered and from which said carriers may be despatched, material upon which is made records of the number and relative frequency of despatch of carriers from said station and of the number and relative near-' ness to each other of delays in the handling station and of the number and relative nearness to each other of delays in the handling of carriers arriving at said station, means to make said records upon said material, time element mechanism for effecting timed relative movement between said material and said record making means, carrier controlled means for controlling said record making means to record delays upon said material, and means at said station for controlling said record making means to record the despatch of carriers.

16 In a carrier despatch system, the combination of a series of groups of means for guiding carriers when in transit, said groups respectively extending tddiifere'nt departments served by said system, material upon which is made records. ofthe number and relative frequency of despatch of carriers in determined directions along certain of said guiding means, means to make said records upon said material indetermined portions thereof corresponding to said departments; time element mechanism for effecting timed relative movement between said material and said record making means, and means to actuate said record making means for any given department in a determined manner for any predetermined plurality of carriers'despatched along said certain guiding means corresponding to said department. q

17. In a carrier despatch system, the combination of'a series of groups of means for guiding carriers when in transit, said groups respectively extending to different departments served by said system, material upon which is made records of the number and relative frequency of despatch of carriers in determined directions along certain of said guidingmeans, means to make said records upon said material in determined portions thereof corresponding to said departments, time element mechanism for effecting timed relative movement between said material and-said record making means, and means to actuate said record making means for any given department in a determined manner for every "determined number of carriers despatched along said certain guiding meanscorresponding to said department. c

18. In adarrier despatch system, the combination of a series of groups of means for guiding carriers when in transit, said groups respectively extending to difi'erent departments served by said system, material upon which is made records of the numberv and relative frequency of despatch of carriers in determined directions along certain of said guiding means, means to make said records upon said material indetermined. portions thereof corresponding to said departments, time element -mechanism for eflecting timed relative movement between said material and said record making" means, means to actuate said record making means for any given department in a de-, termined manner for every determmed number of carriers despatched along said certain guiding means corresponding to said department, and means for automatically tallying the number of despatched carriers so recorded. 7

19. In a carrier despatch system, the combination of a series of groups of meansfor guiding carriers when in transit, said groups respectively extending to diiferent departments served by said system, material upon which is made records of the number and relative frequency of despatch of carriers in determined directions along certain of said guiding means, means to make said records upon said material in determined portions thereof corresponding to said departments, time element mechamsm for effecting timed relative movement between said material and said record making means, means to actuate said record making means for any given department in a determined manner for every determined number of carriers despatched along said certain guiding means corresponding to said department, and means for automatically indicating de lays in excess of allotted times in the handling of said carriers at determined delivery stations in said system from which said guiding means extend-to said departments.

20. In a carrier despatch system, the combination of a series of groupsof .means for guiding carriers when in transit, said groups respectively extending to different departments served by said system, material upon which is made records of the number and relative frequency of despatch of car-- riers in determined directions along certain of sa1d guiding means, means to make sa1d records upon said material. in determined portions thereof corresponding to said de partments, time element mechanism for ef-.

fecting timed relative movement between said material and said record making means,

means to actuate said record making means for any given department in a determined guiding carriers when in transit, said groups respectively extending to different departments served by said system, material upon which is-made records of the number and relative frequency .of despatch of carriers in determined directions along cer-' tain of said guiding means, means to make sa1d records upon-sa1d materlal 1n determined portions thereo'f corresponding to said departments, time element mechanism for efiecting timed relative movement between said material and said record making means, means to actuate said record making means for any given department in a determined manner for every determined number of carriers despatched along said certain guiding means corresponding to said department, and means for automatically recording, in properly spaced relationship on the record, delays in excess of allotted times in the handling of said carriers at a determined delivery station in said system.

22. In a carrier despatch system, the combination of a series of groups of means for guiding carriers when in transit, said groups respectively extending to difierent departments served by said system, material upon which is made records of the number and relative frequency of despatch of carriers in determined directions along certain of said guiding means, means to make said records upon said material in determined columns thereon corresponding to said departments, time element mechanism for effecting timed relative movement between said material and said record making means, means to actuate said record making means for any given department in a determined manner for every determined number'of carriers despatched along said certain guiding means corresponding to said department, means for automatically recording, in properly spaced relationship on the record, delays in excess of allotted times in the handling of said carriers at a determined delivery station in said system, and auxiliary means for separately recording in columns parallel to those aforesaid'the number of carriers despatched from said station, the columned records of delays and of carriers despatched from said station being in correspondence for equal periods of time and comparable to show if said delays are excusable.

23. In a carrier despatch apparatus, the combination of means for guiding carriers in transit, a station to which said carriers are delivered, a timing device, and means co-acting therewith to record a demerit against the operator at said station, for a delay in attending to a carrier reposing at a part of said station for a time in excess of a period determined by said timing device.

24. In carrier despatch apparatus, the combination of pneumatic transmission tubes with automatic means for keeping a timed record of the despatch of carriers through certain of said tubes, and automatic meansfor isochronally, with respect to said first record, keeping an additional record of delays in handling carriers to be transmitted through certain of said tubes, so that said records may be readily compared,

25. In carrier despatch apparatus, the combination of pneumatic transmission tubes with automatic means for keeping a timed record of the despatch of carriers through certain of said tubes, automatic means for isochronally, with respect to said first record, keeping an additional record of delays in handling carriers to be transmitted through certain of said tubes, so that said records may be readily compared, and mechanism, controlled by said first mentioned means, for automaticall tallying the number of carriers despatche as the timed record thereof is made.

26. In carrier despatch apparatus, the combination of pneumatic transmission tubes with automatic means for keeping a timed record of the despatch of carriers through certain groups of said tubes, automatic means for isochronally, with respect to said first record, keeping an additional record of delays in handling carriers to be transmitted through certain of said tubes, so that said records may be readily compared, and mechanism, controlled by said first mentioned means, for separately tallying the number of carriers despatched through each of said groups of tubes.

27. In carrier despatch apparatus, the combination of pneumatic transmission tubes with automatic means for keeping a timed record of the despatch of carriers through certain of said tubes, automatic means for isochronally, with respect to said first record, keeping an additional record of delays in handling carriers to be transmitted through certain of said tubes, so that said records may be readily compared, and auxiliary means for signaling whenever a delay occurs and whether said delay is of a single carrier or of a plurality of carriers.

28. In carrier despatch apparatus, the combination of pneumatic transmission tubes with automatic means for keeping a timed record of the despatch of carriers through certain of said tubes, automatic means for isochronally, with respect to said first record, keeping an additional record of delays in handling carriers to be transmitted through certain of said tubes, so that said records may be readily compared, and auxiliary means for signaling whenever a delay occurs. v

In testimony whereof I have afiixed my signature, in the presence of two witnesses.

CHESTER s. JENNINGS.

Witnesses:

M. K. PORTER, v E. M. JORDAN. 

